Landscape Photos

Images of the landscape will give your presentations a sense of place. The person viewing your images will understand what it was like to be there at the location you were photographing. This is besides the fact that landscape photography is a beautiful genre all to itself; whole books are available on this type of photography alone.

Landscape is often the place many people start practicing nature photography because you really don't need specialized lenses, you can start right away. Landscapes are not, however, a matter of simply holding up the camera and clicking, and it is important to really apply the rules of good composition. Simple things like making sure your horizons are straight, having sufficient dept of field, and having good light are crucial to landscape photography.

The key to landscape photography is foreground. Having something interesting in the foreground allows the viewer to move into the image. Foreground can be simple, a branch of a tree framing the photo or a rock at the pond's edge. Anything that stands out in the front of the image can add depth and drama to the photo.

Landscapes can be used to portray wildlife as well as scenery. Using a wide-angle lens and placing the animal in the foreground is a wonderful way to illustrate the animal's habitat. Making wildlife landscapes are also a way of portraying wildlife without the use of long telephoto lenses. The key is to get close to the animal so it takes up as much space in the frame as possible. In wildlife landscapes, the wildlife is more a component of the entire image and less the main point of interest. Obviously, this is not possible with some species of animals, but the technique works well when you can approach an animal closely.

Landscape photos are surprisingly tricky to take. There's something that happens inside your head that makes looking at the real landscape enjoyable, but that something is usually not in the photo.

The trap that amateur photographs, including me, fall in to is trying to capture too much of a scene. As a result, the landscape photo which is supposed to contain a lot of interesting things ends up containing nothing in particular.

Still, even knowing that my efforts will result in something less than breathtaking, it's fun trying. I try to look for interesting clouds or vibrant colors in an effort to convey the feeling I had when I took the photo. Doesn't always work of course.